Secrets
by Writer in the Shadows
Summary: Ron finds out one of Harry's deepest secrets that only a few of his select friends knew. Ron is furiated with Harry, but will this one secret ruin their friendship forever?


Harry and Ginny sat at a table in the Three Broomsticks, sharing a moment whilst drinking butterbeers. It was as crowded as ever, and they couldn't help but overhear what everybody else was talking about. They were disclosing information about themselves that was very shocking to others – one boy told Katie Bell that he had snogged another boy the night before. Harry's eyes widened in shock. He turned and looked to another corner of the pub, only to see a couple snogging over there. It seemed it was a time to snog. Harry and Ginny weren't the average couple. Ginny was Harry's best friend's sister; Harry was Ginny's brother's best friend. They had been keeping their relationship a secret, because they did not want to see how Ron would react if he ever found out. They both figured Ron would be very disheartened by their relationship, and especially so if he ever were to catch them locking lips.

Harry broke the silence.

"I think it's time we told your brother," he admitted, trying not to stare at the couple snogging in the corner.

"Are you nuts?! He'll freak, Harry!" exclaimed Ginny, with a rather serious look on her face.

"I thought you weren't afraid of wee little Ronnikins?" Harry laughed.

"I'm not afraid! He's just a freak, you know that!"

"Well, in any case, he _is_ your brother, and he does have a right to the truth."

"So what, Harry? I told you, he's going to freak. It's best if we don't." A frightened look crept upon her face as she spoke.

"Yes, but he's bound to find out some time. Would you rather him walk in on us kissing, or would you rather him find out from us? It's better just to get it over with now, and not have to deal with it later, don't you think?" Harry asked her, reaching over and grabbing her hand.

"Well, if you really think we should, Harry," she caved in.

"Yes, Ginny, I really do. It's better that he find out from us, rather than seeing it for himself the first time." The two stood up from the table and walked out of the pub, hand in hand.

They walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, talking very passionately about Quidditch. If there was _one_ thing the couple loved to talk about, it would definitely have to be Quidditch.

"Did you see that last game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw? That was amazing! Cho completely psyched out Draco!" Harry said, in awe, as they walked away.

"Well, why don't you date _her_ then?" Ginny wrenched her hand from his grasp and crossed her arms against her chest, walking faster.

"Ginny, c'mon, I didn't mean it like that! You know I don't like her!"

"Oh, I know Harry. I just love messing with you." She turned around and smiled at him. She ruffled his hair as he caught up to her.

As they walked through the door of Honeyduke's, they immediately ran into Ron and Hermione, who were arguing over something as usual. Harry knew it was just another one of those everyday arguments, and was probably nothing big whatsoever.

"Hey Hermione!" Ginny greeted one of her closest friends. The two girls walked off towards a corner away from the boys.

"Ginny, why haven't you two told him yet? You told me you were going to the other day!" Hermione exclaimed. She had found out about a month prior, and promised not to say anything to Ron.

"We did, Hermione," was all Ginny could say. The look in her eye told Hermione she was lying.

"Ginny, I can tell you're lying. He really needs to know! Before he finds out accidentally. Then it could turn out very badly.

Meanwhile, over by the fudge, Ron had started a conversation with Harry.

"How's it goin', mate?" Ron asked him.

"I'm alright. I've had better days, but we all know I've had worse." He laughed. He looked over at Ginny and gave her a smile and a wink. Ginny left her conversation with Hermione to join the two guys.

"Ron, Harry and I need to talk to you about something," she told him, her eyebrows lowering.

"Yeah, mate, we figured it was time we told you something very important," Harry chimed in.

"Well, what is it?" Ron's face looked puzzled.

"Well...erm..." Harry began.

"Go on! Tell me! It can't be anything that bad. It's not like you two are dating." Ron rolled his eyes and laughed to himself. This was their perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"No, of course not!" Harry laughed along with him. "She's your sister, mate!"

"So, what is it then?" Ron inquired.

"Well, we just wanted to let you know that Hermione told us the other day that she kind of has a thing for you," Ginny told her older brother.

"Yeah, but don't let her know we told you, or she'll jinx us all," Harry told him.

"Was that it?" Ron already knew Hermione liked him. She had told him this once before. Harry and Ginny both had absolutely no idea that Hermione had any inkling of a crush on Ron, and were just trying to find a way to cover themselves. After purchasing a few bars of chocolate and some fresh fudge, Harry and Ginny walked out of Honeyduke's and began walking down the roads of Hogsmeade once more.

"Whew! That was a close one!" Ginny exclaimed when they were finally out of earshot of Ron.

"Tell me about it," Harry agreed. "What do you say we had a look in Zonko's?" They walked in and looked around at all of the wonderful pranks inside of it; there were dung bombs and fireworks galore. Of course, most of these things were banned by Filch at Hogwarts. Plus, Fred and George supplied them with all of the pranks they could ever desire. Nobody really paid a whole lot of attention to Filch's demands, especially the Twins. Harry and Ginny decided to load up on a couple of different items that they couldn't get something comparable to from Fred and George.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," Ginny said, pointing her finger near the front of the line to where Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabb and Goyle, were standing.

"What's he doing in here?" A look of disgust crept across Harry's face.

"I have no clue, but something tells me he's not buying...Melon-Head Marshmallows," Ginny replied, laughing as she randomly picked something off of a nearby shelf. Harry read the label to himself. "Feed your friends this wacky marshmallow and watch their head swell to the size of a melon!"

"The things they come up with these days," Harry muttered under his breath so as not to let Zonko hear him insult the shop. He personally believed Fred and George's shop was much better than this place. They had everything – Extendable Ears, Skiving Snackboxes, Canary Creams, and their famous fireworks. Harry reminded himself that next time he was in Diagon Alley, he was going to pick up one of those portable swamps Fred and George were selling. He was surprised Zonko's was still in business considering the mail-away catalog that Fred and George had. He was also surprised the Twins hadn't opened a shop in Hogsmeade.

After paying, as they were walking out the door, Harry walked straight into Draco Malfoy. His two dim-witted bodyguards were with him per usual, but Harry knew they would never actually do anything.

"Watch where you're going, Potter," Malfoy spat at him.

"Malfoy, I _was_ watching where I was going," Harry replied, glaring straight into the eyes of the one kid in the whole school who he could honestly say he hated. There were those of whom he was not very fond, but Malfoy was the only one he _hated_.

"Potter, I'd watch what I said if I were you. Are you sure you want to get in our way?" he sneered. "And I wouldn't be caught dead with this poor excuse for a witch here."

"Leave here alone, Malfoy."

"Aw is Potty Potter sticking up for the little Weasel girl? C'mon Crabbe, Goyle, I don't want to be seen around these people," Draco told his cronies, laughing as they headed off in the opposite direction.

"God, I hope something awful happens to them," Harry said, his face turning bright red with anger.

As their day in Hogsmeade came to an end about an hour later, they found themselves in the common room with Ron and Hermione. Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess, and Harry was definitely putting a beating on Ron. He had promised himself at the beginning of the game that if he won, he would tell Ron the truth. The only reason he made the promise was because he never beat Ron. The game seemed to go on forever, mostly because Harry was extremely nervous about winning and having to tell Ron the truth. He was just trying to deny the inevitable. Ron would have to find out sooner or later, Hermione was right, and he knew it was true too. So what was the use of denying it?

"Listen, Ron, about earlier day, you know, when Ginny and I were talking to you in Honeyduke's?" Harry said to Ron, just as he finished yelling Check Mate.

"What about it?" A puzzled look appeared on Ron's face, which was already screwed up in confusion over his loss.

"Well, what we told you wasn't what we really _wanted_ to tell you. It's just that...It's really hard for us to tell you, but –" Harry was sweating profusely. He just couldn't get the words out.

"We're dating." Ginny finished his sentence for him.

"What?!" Ron yelled, spitting out a sip of his water.

"It's true, Ron. We've been going out for a little while now. We figured it's about time we told you. We just didn't know how you would react," Harry admitted.

"How could you, Harry? She's my sister! And you're my best friend!" Ron's face was flushed, and was turning darker shades of red by the minute. He reminded Harry of Uncle Vernon. Ron stormed out of the common room, storming off towards God knows where. Harry tried to run after him, but Hermione stuck her hand out in front of him.

"Harry, no. He'll be fine. Just let him be for now. He'll come around. Just give him some time to himself, to think," Hermione warned him. Harry sat back down next to Ginny.

"It's okay, Harry. He'll come around. You know he always does," Ginny told him, trying to cheer Harry up a bit.

"She's absolutely right, Harry. Don't worry about it. He just needs a little bit of time for himself, some time just to be able to accept that his best friend his dating his younger sister, that's all." Hermione was also trying to comfort him. She knew Ron always overreacted to things. He had done so in the past very often.

"I think I'm going to get something to eat. I'm starving," Harry told them, getting up from the sofa and walking out through the portrait hole. The two girls followed him towards the Great Hall, where Ron was seen eating a roll rather viciously. Harry tried to sit down next to his best friend, but Ron just got up and moved down to the other end of the table. When Harry tried to move down to sit by him again, Hermione halted him.

"Harry, remember what we said. He needs some time alone." Harry, Ginny, and Hermione began eating dinner together; others joined them during the course of their meal. Ron left not too long after they had begun eating, and shot an icy glare towards Harry as he stood up from the table. Harry could not help but to feel bad. He knew Ron didn't approve of his dating Ginny, and Harry knew there was no reason Ron _should_ approve. Ron was right. Why was he dating his best friend's sister? Wasn't friendship more important?

As they entered the common room later that night, they saw Ron sitting in a chair, chatting cheerfully with Neville. They were laughing about something, and by the looks of it, it must have been very funny.

"Hey guys," Harry greeted them.

"Oh, hey Harry!" Neville replied, looking up at him from his chair.

"Hey, Harry," Ron said, still staring at something on the floor, and twiddling his thumbs, obviously refusing to look Harry in the eye. Harry could tell that the anger was gone from his eyes, but instead saw a vague semblance of sorrow.

"Listen, Ron, I need to talk to you." Harry tried to look Ron in his face, but Ron was still staring at his shoes.

"Yeah, mate, I guess I need to talk to you too," he replied, finally looking up from whatever was interesting him by his shoes. "What do you say we go for a quick walk?"

"Sure. Sounds fine by me." Ron stood up from his seat, and the two walked out through the portrait hole, leaving the others behind in the common room.

"Ron, mate, I'm sorry. But you have to believe me when I tell you that I really like your sister. I _love_ your sister." Harry felt extremely awkward saying those words to Ron, but knew he would eventually have to talk to Ron about it.

"I know you do, Harry. And I can't think of anyone else who would be better for my sister. I mean, she's my little sister. It didn't matter who dates her, I'm going to be protective over her. It's just the way it is. I was just a bit freaked out when I first heard it come from your mouth. I never saw that coming in a million years. I was just talking with Neville, and he helped me realize there really isn't anything wrong with it. He's absolutely right. I completely overreacted. I guess I do that a lot, eh?" Ron laughed. "But just remember, Harry, if you _do_ break her heart, I know where you sleep." The two of them laughed together.

"Don't worry, Ron, I wouldn't dream of breaking your sister's heart."

"Just so you know, mate, if I catch you two snogging, there will be severe consequences."

"Oh yeah, what will that be?"

"Well, when I vomit, I'm going to make sure I do it all over your robes."

"C'mon, Ron, I bet I'll beat you in Wizard's Chess again!" exclaimed Harry, setting off at a run back towards the common room.

"Oh, you're on!" he heard Ron yell from behind him.

The two friends raced off for the Gryffindor common room, both vowing never to let Ginny get in the middle of their friendship ever again.


End file.
